Box Score
WAYNE, N.J. – Tied at 45-45 with 7:41 to play, the No. 16/15 William Paterson women's basketball team (9-0, 2-0 NJAC) scored 14 of the game's next 18 points to remain perfect on the season, grinding out a 62-56 victory against visiting The College of New Jersey (4-5, 0-2 NJAC) Dec. 12.
The Pioneers were able to survive a tough Lion squad, despite shooting just 34.4 (21-61) percent from the field compared to TCNJ's 46.5 (20-43) percent effort. William Paterson owned a narrow 38-36 edge on the boards overall, but a 17-9 advantage on the offensive glass that resulted in a 17-7 lead in second-chance points. WP also won the turnover battle (14-25) and made some timely three-pointers (4-9, .444) en route to the win.
Senior
Elisa Brown (Norwalk, Conn./Norwalk) scored 17 of her 19 points during the second half, one of the key sparks for the Pioneers coming out of the locker room. She also contributed seven rebounds and three steals while making seven of 13 field goals, including a 2-for-2 effort from behind the arc. Sophomore
BriAnna Lucas (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) scored 15 of her game-high 20 points during the opening period, adding five rebounds, while senior
Stephanie Summers (Atlantic City, N.J./Atlantic City) helped ignite William Paterson with her stout second-half defense, finishing with four rebounds. Freshman
Elena Noonan (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany) added seven tallies, seven boards and two steals.
WP went ahead for good on a Lucas layup at the 7:30 mark, and after a 1-for-2 trip to the line for TCNJ's Kelsey Kutch 39 seconds later, senior
Erin Cook (Princeton, N.J./Princeton) connected once from the line to again make it a two-point game (48-46, 6:18). Brown then used a high ball screen by Summers and got into the lane to score, followed by a
Regina Kelly (Garfield, N.J./Garfield) steal and fast-break layup, to open up a 52-46 lead with 5:31 remaining.
Neither team was able to score again until the 4:05 mark, when Hannah Tait (Staten Island, N.Y./Notre Dame Academy) drained a three-pointer, but a second-chance jumper by Noonan eventually made it a two-possession game (54-49, 3:03). Brown then followed with a layup, and scored again after a TCNJ turnover, making the free throw to finish off the three-point play and give the Pioneers a 10-point lead (59-49) with 1:52 left.
A Candace Vigo layup and a Stephanie Prall three-point play pulled the Lions within five, 59-54, during the final 35 seconds, but senior
Julie Haledjian (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills) was immediately fouled after the resulting inbounds and made one of two from the charity stripe. Following a Tait turnover, Lucas stepped to the line and made two (62-54, 0:17) to put the game out of reach.
Seven ties and six lead changes were the story of the game's opening 20 minutes, as the largest lead enjoyed by either team was a 27-22 Lion advantage with 3:28 remaining. TCNJ entered the locker room with a 31-26 edge, making 11 of 25 (.440) attempts from the field compared to William Paterson's 31.0 (9-29) percent shooting.
Tait led the Lions with 14 points, while Vigo had 13 tallies and seven rebounds, and Kutch posted 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Prall finished with 11 points and four assists for TCNJ.
William Paterson will play at Lehman Thursday, Dec. 17, at 6:00 p.m.
